School Grades Are In; Spoto High Gets Its First 'A'

When the Florida Department of Education released grades for high schools Wednesday, Hillsborough County found reason to celebrate.

Twenty-five of the district’s 27 schools earned A or B grades for the 2010-11 school year — a record, according to Hillsborough school district spokesman Stephen P. Hegarty.

Spoto High in Riverview was one of five county schools to earn its first A, joining Brandon, Chamberlain, Plant City and Steinbrenner high schools. Spoto received a D grade the year prior.

"There has been an attempt to change our culture at the school over the last year and really focus on academics and challenging our students more," Spoto Principal Phillip Carr said of his school's turnaround. "Our teachers came back three days early  from summer break, and we have been trying to stretch our students more in class and get the most out of them. I couldn't be more proud of our faculty and students."

Carr said his announcement of the A grade to students and staff Wednesday was met with much excitement.

"Everybody is on cloud nine right now," Carr said.

A look at how other area schools fared, according to the department of education’s website:

• got a B for the third straight year.

• Durant High recorded its ninth straight B.

• earned an A for the fourth straight year.

• dropped from an A grade in 2009-10 to a B.

The district as a whole had 93 percent of its high schools earn A or B grades. This is an increase from last year’s 79 percent.

Statewide 78 percent of high schools made A or B grades.

School grades are based on a number of factors including FCAT scores, participation in accelerated courses and graduation rates.

For more information about school grades, visit the department of education online.